Severed
by x-NeonQueen-x
Summary: Sequel to "Stitches" As Bella and Edward prepare for their wedding, they believe their bad luck has ended. wrong. Zander now matured has to deal with heartbreak, loss, and betrayal. Imprints begin to break out, pain and suffering continues. When everything becomes to much will death be the only option? How far would you go to destroy the person who has stolen the love of your life?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Welcome readers, to the sequel to "Stitches" I hope you continue to enjoy this series.**_

_**I will be attempting to follow the Twilight story line as closely as I can, yet giving a fresh twist of my very own. **_

_**Side notes: Victoria is dead, Riley is still alive, Vanessa has been added to the family, the man who raped Bella has been killed, and Bella's wedding is coming up soon. Zander is growing one year, per month.**_

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**Bella's Point of view **

"Can you believe Mr. Banner gives homework out on the first day of school?" Zander said with a frown, shaking his dirty blonde hair for a moment.

"It only gets worse from here to, his pop quiz will kill you," Emmett sniggered, his arm slung carelessly around Rosalie's chair.

Zander sighed, scooping around the mash-potatoes on his tray, before taking cautious bites; a bored look came to his face as he glanced around the lunchroom. Looking at ease, but uninterested.

It was still so hard to believe how grown-up he had gotten, so quickly. One day he was my sweet little baby, and now he was my handsome teenage boy. Time truly seemed to be the only enemy that we faced at the time. Zander was physically the age of 15 right now, but just in three months he would be completely matured and slow down to his normal aging.

I was pleasantly surprised that Zander was able to kick up with his fast developments, he was just as bright as the kids his age, he understood his emotions, and most importantly he knew he was different than others, but he accepted this with a smile on his face.

"Mom, I think we have gym together," Zander said with a chuckle, pulling out his schedule from his pocket, neatly unfolding it, to take a glance at it, "Yep, that should be fun, right?"

I had to admit, in my human years, gym had always been a huge challenge to me, firstly not to hurt myself, and not to hurt the others around me. It was never easy, but I usually ended up with a new bruise each day I went to gym. But not now, now that I was a vampire, everything was much more bearable.

"It sure will be," I smiled watching him, amused by his eagerness.

As waves of sparks zapped through my body, I glanced down to see Edward's hand resting on my thigh, smiling I leaned more into his side. Knowing full well that if I looked into those golden eyes, I knew he had locked on me, I would lose my train of thought.

His smooth lips touched my forehead for a minute, before his hand now took mine, tangling out fingers together on my lap. Just with his hand in mine, I felt a whole new feeling come to me; it was a content high that I normally never felt unless I was around Edward.

"Oh," Alice squeaked her eyes going wide as she got all our attention, a wide smiling coming to her face. "We have a new girl here today,"

Jasper raised a brow, watching his wife silently, as she took his hand, and stood up with her tray. They both walked gracefully towards the garbage, and as my eyes followed them, I saw a girl come walking into the cafeteria.

"Is that her?" Vanessa asked quietly from across me, her golden eyes glancing from me, to the girl that had walked in.

Rose rolled her eyes, looking towards the girl, before looking coldly towards Vanessa, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, before locking her icy stare on Emmett, making sure his eyes didn't wander towards Vanessa.

"I think so," I whispered, and took my time to really study the girl, as she walked with Jessica Stanley, and Angela Webber.

Her hair was a perfect strawberry blonde, a few freckles dotted her face, and the way her chocolate brown eyes moved from person to person, hinted a shyness in her. She was almost as pale as we were, and her body was that of an average human girl. Overall, she was a pretty girl, and she seemed nice.

Everyone by now was turned away, as Alice and Jasper came back to the table, except for Zander, his eyes stayed in her direction.

"Zander, it's not polite to stare," I reminded him gently.

And with deliberate slowness, he moved his head back to look at the rest of us.

"Dad, what is she thinking?" He responded.

Edward raised a brow, glancing at the girl, then back to his son, "She is wondering if the lunch food is really edible,"

Zander crackled a smile, chuckling, before he turned his sights back on the girl, watching her with no shame. "She is… interesting," He mused.

Vanessa now cleared her throat, her eyes looking down towards the table, picking her tray up, "I'm going to head to class early," She said gently, glancing from Zander, to the rest of us before walking away.

I couldn't help but watch Zander, he was paying a lot of attention to his girl, it's something that made me start to think, and I wasn't sure if this was something he would need to talk about with me. Surely Edward would be able to talk with him about this better than I could.

It was hard watching my baby grow up right before my eyes, it was nearly impossible to even bring myself into terms of him being an adult. Everything in my life seemed to finally be looking brighter however.

The wedding would be in just three months from now, and Alice would be watching for Riley, if he ever did decide to come for revenge, we would be ready. And since Carlisle had healed Leah, and she was doing so well, the wolves have really became close friends of ours, there was always still a bit of hostility at times, but all in all, we got along pretty well.

It felt like nothing could ever ruin this, nothing was ever going to get in the way of our happiness ever again. But I knew better, it was only a matter of time.

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**So what did you think for a first chapter?  
5 reviews get you an update!**

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**you can see Zander as a teenager, by the link on my profile. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Bella's Point of View **

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I know I might be acting like some kind of overly protective mother, but I was really beginning to worry about Zander, throughout the week, he would disappear during school, he didn't meet us at our lockers, we barely spoke during the classes we had together, and when we were at lunch, the only thing he did, was watch across the lunch room to that new girl.

Finally today was the day I was going to say something, there was no way I could ignore this bizarre behavior any longer. I just wanted to know, why the concentrated look stayed in his eyes as he watched this girl.

"Zander, can we talk for a second," I said, lightly moving my lunch tray to the side, keeping a serious look on my face.  
Everyone now paused, looking between us.

Zander slowly turned his head, his eyes meeting mine for a minute, before they looked back down at the table, as if hanging his head in shame. "What is it mom,"

"You have been acting off all week, what is wrong?"

He didn't look up. "Nothing is wrong; I don't know what you're talking about,"

I could tell he wasn't being truthful, just by the way his eyes wouldn't make contact with mine, and the anxiety that clouded his features.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I said with a stern look.

He winced, and steadied his hands on his drink, taking a huge gulp of it, using this to peek at me, to see how serious my expression was.

"Not, completely," He offered.

I sighed, looking to Edward. "What is he thinking?"

This was going nowhere, maybe if I knew his thoughts a bit better I would understand the problem, and would be able to help him.

Edward's eyes slide from Zander's face to mine, his butterscotch orbs filled with caution, but a hint of happiness was dancing just behind the surface.

"The only thoughts Zander has been having, has been centered on the new girl," He stated gently, tilting his head to the side just slightly as he watched Zander. "He has a very vivid way of seeing her,"

Emmett was the first to respond to this, "Zan got his first crush!" His booming laugh was enough to bring a few curious eyes over to the table.

Zander's face was now a bit pink, throwing Emmett a glare, "No I don't,"

"This is so precious," Rose smiled, watching Zander. "Why don't you go talk with her?" She looked as though this was completely unsurprising.

"W-what, because I don't like her," Zander protested.

"Then why is she the only thing you think about?" Emmett grinned widely.

Zander's face seemed to be getting redder now, glancing for me for help.

I was about to speak, but Alice beat me to it. "Zander, you gotta talk with her, she is super nice, and I've seen how this works out, you two will make an amazing couple,"

Vanessa made a face, but didn't speak up, moving her food around her tray, shifting a small strand of blonde out of her face, before heaving a sigh.

I speculated her face for a moment, unsure of why she was suddenly so bothered, but my concerns went back to my son, as he had gone almost completely quiet. He was looking towards Alice now, a hint of hope sparking in his eyes.

"R-really… I mean, everyone knows that my family is different, won't she think I'm so kind of freak or something?"

I couldn't help but frown at his words, "No one thinks you are a freak, don't even think that ever," I said shaking my head seriously.

Zander sighed, looking between Alice and me, before nodding slightly.

"Look, I don't like her, I don't even know her name, I just think… she is really interesting, and smart, and kind, and beautiful…" He shook his head quickly, going even more red in the face.

Emmett coughed. "Whipped,"

A few chuckles bounced around the table, including a small one from Edward, he seemed to be just as content as the others as he watched Zander.

"Her name is Brooke, by the way," Alice grinned wagging her brows at him, seeming to find all of this amused.

Zander's eyes seemed to brighten at her name, and it didn't take Jasper's gift to know the love that he must be feeling. It was so clearly seen, I didn't know how I didn't notice it before.

"His thoughts are similar to how I have thought about you, upon falling in love with you," He whispered to me, making a chill run down my back.

I felt a smile tug on my lips now as I looked up into his eyes, pecking his lips for just a moment, before turning my attention back to Zander, now content with the fact that my son had experienced the first feelings of being in love.

"His feelings as quite similar to yours as well," Jasper stated looking from Edward to Zander, a gently smile on his face. "Not quite as… passionate, but it's a spark of something,"

Just knowing this made me feel a bit better about this whole thing. As long as Zander was happy, I didn't see what the big problem would be, to let him be happy with whoever he wanted.

"I think, you should spend some time with her, get to know her, maybe sit with her, and her friends for lunch," I suggested, letting myself lean into Edward's side as his arm went around my shoulders.

Zander watched us for a minute, taking a few bites of his food, seeming to deliberate, but at the same time the answer was clear in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll talk to her," He sounded embarrassed, but the joy on his face made my heart warm.

My eyes flashed to Vanessa for a second, taking in her pained expression as she watched the students passing our table. Maybe she was thirsty, that's why she has been looking just about tortured through this whole discussion.

I knew better then to ask her publically, and embarrass her, so I decided not to comment. She was still fairly new to this lifestyle, but I had to admit, she was going an amazing job.

"Just remember, she can't know anything about us," Rose said gently, watching between Zander, and the new girl.

"I would never," He said seriously, and again his eyes flashed over to where Brooke sat, a twinkling in his eye catching my attention.

Slowly I smiled.

It was nice to see everyone so happy…

Although my gaze turned back to Vanessa, noticing her glum look, yet the silence from her was undeniable. I wondered idly what was wrong; did she wish to have a mate as well?

Or was it deeper than that…

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**Riley's Point of View**

I easily flung myself though the opened window. I could smell the familiar scent all through the house. Venom filled in my mouth, my throat burning.

I crept around the dark house, moving to glance into each room, until I found what I was looking for.

In front of me, was chief Swan, the father, of Bella Swan. This was for Victoria, this was for all the pain that Bella and her family caused me. And this was only than beginning.

The man lay quietly in his bed, only a slight snore falling off his lips, and a small shift had him turning to face away from me.

Quickly I moved forward sinking my fangs into his snuck, sucking in the sweet, warm liquid down my throat, cooling the flames. He now had woke up, letting out a cry of pain. His arms went out to me, his hands moving to my throat in an attempt to choke me.

I didn't let him go, letting out a growl as I drank faster, forcing his hands back down from me. As soon as he was still from under me, I let him go.

Good and dead.

And this wouldn't be the end of it; the Cullen's would pay for what they have done to me.

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**5 reviews give you an update. **

**RIP- Charlie Swan**


	3. Chapter 3

**I couldn't help but notice the review from KCRey1213, who seems a bit confused of the timeline of the events in the series. In the first book "Birthmark" Edward had been in the hospital, taking "training" rounds, he had been given Bella as a patient, just thinking he would be checking out a patient. He didn't know he would be delivering a child. He did indeed go to school at this point. **

**If you paid attention to the chapters, you noticed that Zander has only referred to Edward and Bella as his parents when he is with them privately at lunch; no other students hear the conversations between the Cullen's. **

**Hope this cleared up any confusion. **

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**Bella's Point of View **

I was beginning to really worry about Charlie. He hasn't been over for months, the last he had been around, Zander had only been a baby, and he would surely know something was wrong, if he saw that Zander was grown almost to my own age. But he did keep in contact with us by phone, all up until a few weeks ago.

I was thinking about going to visit him, just to make sure he was alright, I'm sure he was fine, but there was just a nagging feeling inside of me that something wasn't right.

"We are going to be right back," I heard Edward say.

Glancing back towards the house, I took in Zander's bright smile as he watched from the front door. "Alright, tell grandpa Charlie I said hi," He spoke cheerfully.

With that, Edward came zooming to the car, sitting perfectly still in the driver's seat, giving me his charming crooked smile. "Ready to go love?"

"As I'll ever be,"

Edward and I had decided it was time to tell Charlie of the proposal, Rene and Phil was already aware, but I was really worried about his reaction to this. He has been there for me through a lot, and I knew it was hard on him that I've been living with the Cullen's.

As we pulled into the driveway, I noticed Edward pause, going completely still.

"Edward, what is it?"

His eyes flashed to me for a moment, worry dancing in his eyes.

"Bella…"

Something was wrong; I knew that right away, suddenly I caught a wife of staled air. It was easy to pick out single scents, so when my throat began to burn at the smell of blood, reality hit me.

Quickly I got out of the car, going straight into the house, "Dad," I called out, anxiety hitting the pit of my stomach when there was no answer.

I followed the smell of blood, going to his room, taking in his figure, lying still in his bed. The first thing I noticed was how pale he looked. Even his lips were a colorless shade of pale. He was so still, not even the slightest movement of the rise and fall of his chest could be detected. That's when I realized there was no heartbeat in the room.

"Dad," I said gently, moving close to him, falling to my knees in front of his bed, I could feel agony stabbing at my heart, and sorrow spiraling down my core.

My body trembled, sobs falling off my lips, my shoulders heaving, but no tears would come out. The pain was overwhelming; I hadn't felt such a pain since my turn. It was almost too much to stand, until Edward's gentle touch brought me back to my feet.

"I'm so sorry Bella," He spoke quietly, pulling me to his chest, his hands rubbing soothing circles on my back. His smooth lips touched my forehead, and for a second, I was ok.

"How did this happen?" I voiced between my trembling lips, I couldn't unhook my arms from around him; it was the only thing keeping me together.

"Did you notice the second scent in this room?" He asked quietly, his hand traveling up my back to play with my hair, obviously trying to distract my thoughts, but nothing would, not this time.

Taking in a breath, I did recognize another scent, it had seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who it was. I looked back up into Edward's topaz eyes for clarification.

"Riley," His voice was gentle, but his expression held nothing but seriousness.

At this, two dominant emotions hit me, fury, and guilt. Riley was out for vengeance, that much was clear, he had targeted Charlie, because he knew Charlie was weak, unprotected, and mattered a lot to me. This was entirely my fault, I had put Charlie in danger, I could never forgive myself for something like this.

I had to keep my eyes away from Charlie, I couldn't look at him like this, it was… the most horrible feeling in the world to know, that your father… was _dead, _all because of you.

"This is all my fault," I muttered, my eyes sinking to the ground.

Edward's finger was now at my chin, and firmly made me look up to look in his eyes. For a minute I was completely distracted by his golden orbs, peering into me with the most sullen look. "Bella, this was not your fault, don't you dare say that,"

"But it is, Charlie wouldn't be… like this- I couldn't bring myself to say dead. "If it wasn't for me," I lightly bit my lip, feeling grief take over my expression. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

Edward's eyes softened as he analyzed me, again pulling me to his chest, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "I know this is going to be hard, but this wasn't your fault Bella, we should have been paying closer attention to Charlie, we should have taken Riley getting away more seriously."

I listened to Edward's words with a heavy heart, and knew that he was partially right. We weren't exactly worried about Riley, he didn't have any special abilities, and he didn't seem the least bit intimidating when we had been fighting in the clearing. We just figured that he would flee Forks and never return.

But then I recalled Edward's words, soon after the whole fight had been over. Victoria had fooled Riley, into thinking that she would be his mate for life, she led him to believe that she loved him; in return he loved her with every fiber of his being.

When Edward had taken the final blow to Victoria, detaching her head from her body, sending it flying with just one lean motion, that's what started this. Riley at that point, was focusing so much on staying alive, that he didn't begin any planning of avenging his mate, not until afterwards.

Of course, I didn't blame Edward for this, it wasn't his fault; he was doing this to protect us; if it was anyone's fault it had to be the wolves.

If Billy wouldn't have gotten Jacob to come around to spy on me, he wouldn't have been there when the vampires showed up, nor would the wolves. James and his gang would have just moved on. Zander wouldn't have been bitten, Charlie wouldn't be dead, everything would have worked out so much better.

"This isn't your fault Bella, I promise you, everyone can be put to fault by this, but no matter who takes the blame, it doesn't change the situation,"

Slowly I nodded, knowing that he was right, as usual.

I let myself fall more into his arms, hugging him closer, needing to feel his comforting embrace now more than ever. His strong arms came around me tighter, his lips on my forehead for a moment, before leaning down to rest his cheek on the top of my head.

There was no way of telling for sure how long we stayed like this, Edward whispered in my ear sweet nothings for possibly hours, until I felt I had the strength to move, and turn my back on this nightmare.

Riley better watch out, because now, it was personal.

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**Zander's Point of View **

The moment mom and dad came back home, I noticed right away that something had gone wrong. My mom never looked to… lifeless, I couldn't think of a time that I had ever seen her so unhappy. Right away, I sent up to my room, where I paced back and forth for a while.

I hated not knowing what was going on, I was anxious to hear what was going on with my mom, but something told me I wasn't going to be getting any explanation tonight. I'm guessing that grandpa Charlie hadn't taken the news well of the wedding.

Slowly I sat down on my bed, glancing around my darkened room for a moment, wishing that I had something to read, something to get my thoughts off of the current situation.

Heaving a sigh I laid down, glancing over to the digital clock sitting on my nightstand, it was 11. This was the usual time I was sent to bed, and usually I was just tired enough that I would have no problem drifting off to sleep, but not tonight.

Flashes of a beautiful face danced around in my mind, a melodious voice cascaded from the glory of the woman I had talked with just today. Her sweet voice could bring the smile on the face of even the dead; to even the most soulless creature of existence.

I felt the room spinning around me for a second, so I forced my eyes closed, letting myself focus just on her. Brooke. The girl that hadn't left my thoughts since the day I had first witnessed her unchanging magnificence.

Why was it so hard for me to speak, when it came to her? Was it the knots that tied up my stomach when she came near me, the butterflies bouncing around inside of me when her eyes met mine, or was it the inability to breathe correctly when I saw that gorgeous smile on her face?

All of it was permanently branded in my every thought, and danced freely around my heart, giving it squeezes at random times; which again makes breathing that much more difficult.

She was utter perfection, yet there was still so much I didn't know of her, such as the confidence in her walk, yet the shyness clearly painted on her features. The way her chocolate brown eyes would dart away when they met mine. The stunning blanket of red that came to her cheeks when I spoke to her alone. What did all of this mean? I wish I knew, I wanted to ask someone, anyone about this, but I didn't know who I could turn to.

My dad might be the best one to go to for things like this, he was a lot like me, and he understood people more than anyone else, not only because of his gift of reading their minds. I suppose mom was really observant as well, so I'm sure she could help me to… but she is upset right now. I didn't want to bother her.

I continued to lie still, keeping my eyes closed as I thought about Brooke. How her perfect strawberry blonde hair twirled around her flawless body as we had stood face to face for the first time.

We had run into each other in the parking lot, I couldn't stop myself, I had to say something. The complete look of surprise filled her face as she had realized I was talking to her, actually had shocked me.

She was very shy, but her kindness was genuine. I was able to get a bit more information about her as we chatted. She had moved here from across the country, from the state of Pennsylvania. Her parents had been looking for a more peaceful, and rusty place to live, so they decided Forks was just perfect for them.

I couldn't help myself; I wanted to know more about her; this amount of information just wasn't enough for me. My mom had been right, getting to know her was a good idea, there was so much that I wanted to know.

Hopefully someday, she would… find me as interesting as I find her…

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	4. Chapter 4

**Zander's point of view **

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The week had gone by quickly, too quick for my liking, I wanted to get back to school… and back to Brooke. It was funny, how badly I hated when the weekends would come, because I knew I wouldn't be able to see her, and how overjoyed I was when Monday would come around, because I knew she would be there, looking as beautiful as ever.

Regardless to that, I was greeted with rain thudding against my window, and the sunless sky of Saturday morning, peering it's ugly face right at me, mocking me.

What could I possibly do all day today, surely my parents would be focusing on Charlie's funeral, aunt Alice and grandma Esme would be off getting wedding things set up. My uncle Emmett, and Aunt Rose is having their 'alone time', Grandpa Carlisle was working, and uncle Jasper and I really didn't get along as well as the others. Mom has always said because he had some trouble with control, so it would be best to not bother him.

That only left Vanessa. Which was perfect, she was like my first best friend that I ever had, she really always was here when I needed her.

Moving up to my feet, I stretched a bit, and quickly got myself presentable. I showered as fast as I could, but at the same time, made sure I was doing a thorough job. Upon getting out, I narrowed my eyes at the random spikes of my hair sticking up. But shrugged it off, moving back to my room, and putting a fresh pair of clothes on, not really seeing what it was I was putting on, just trusting that it looked well.

As I walked down the stairs, I caught the smell of something delicious, which only made my trip down to the kitchen faster. Quickly I headed in, and paused in my tracks to see Vanessa at the stove.

She turned her head slightly back to peek at me, her golden eyes seeming to brighten as she saw me. "Good morning Zander," She said gently, and turned back to the stove, flipping a pancake over.

"Morning, um…" I was too shocked by this situation to form a correct sentence.

"Your parents left me in, they wanted me to watch you until they got back," She answered, as if reading my thoughts.

I now was able to relax a bit, but I sighed, annoyance stirring inside of me.

Didn't I tell them I was too old to have a babysitter? When would they be able to trust me to be home alone? I was almost 16; you would think they would be letting me do a lot more things on my own.

"For the record, I really don't need a babysitter," I shrugged, and took a seat at the table to watch her more closely.

There was one thing I couldn't deny; Vanessa Winters was a beautiful girl.

"Your parents just care about you, a lot, I wish that I would have had parents who care about me so greatly," She said quietly, and turned to me with a plate full of pancakes. She set it down in front of me, and continued to go to the fridge.

Taking in a deep breath, my mouth watered as I looked at the pancakes. They looked, and smelled amazing. Slowly I took a cautious bite, and almost moaned at the taste of them. She truly was the best cook, maybe not as good as my mom's, but pretty close, it was almost perfect.

She smiled setting down a cup of orange juice to me, and some syrup, before sitting down at the table, just at the other end. She was quiet, watching me, almost analyzing me for a moment; her eyes searched mine for a moment as I let my gaze lock on hers.

I felt a redness come to my face as I quickly looked away. Confusion mixed around inside of me, and I quickly forced a smile off of my face. I had to remember my dad's words.

_Vanessa, she is a nice person, a good person, but make sure you aren't seeing what a good person she is through her looks. Look at her from the inside, not the outside. _

He had said these words to me just months ago, back then I didn't understand what he meant, but now I did.

She was an extremely pretty girl, no… beautiful, but I couldn't let that fog my judgment of the kind of person she is. I wasn't sure at this moment, if I was letting her beauty get to me, or I was just being plain stupid right now.

Her honey sweet voice now grabbed my attention as she spoke again. "So, do you enjoy school?" She wondered, her head slightly tilting to the side, watching me, not breathing.

I paused my eating for a moment to answer. "I do, I just wish there wasn't so much homework," I shrugged; then took another bite.

Her laugh was melodious, her perfect lips turning up into a smile. "I couldn't agree more, plus all of the rumors; it's pretty hard not to listen,"

That was true, the school had been buzzing with talk about my family. They believed we were all just stuck up rich kids. That pretty much only keep to themselves. I was ok with the talk of the school, they could believe whatever they wanted, as long as they didn't know the truth; that was completely fine.

"It's better than they knowing the truth though," I shrugged, finishing the pancakes, and nod sitting back a bit, sipping at the juice.

"That's true," Vanessa frowned slightly, her brows pulling together, obviously thinking about something; judging by the concentrated look on her features.

Curiosity was burning at me as I watched her. "What is it?" I had to ask.

She looked up, as if surprised that I had noticed her thinking. Embarrassment lighted her eyes as she turned her golden eyes on me. A thrill danced through me as I watched back at her.

"I was just thinking about, humans… I wish… that I was still normal," She spoke quietly.

For some reason this really brought a sadness to me, and I frowned looking down at my hands; wishing that there was a way for me to help her, but knowing that there was nothing I could possibly do.

"I'm sorry… that you're unhappy… being like this," I said, reaching out to touch her hand. As soon as our skin had come into contact, I felt a buzz of electricity fly up my arm, taking me by surprise; I quickly pulled my hand away.

She looked up at me, her expression not changing. I guess she hadn't felt the same thing I had… what was that… I was too afraid to speak of it; I pushed the thoughts away, and focused back on the conversation at hand.

"It's not that I'm unhappy…" She started, seeming to struggle to come up with the words to use. She decided to say no more, her eyes moving away from me, folding her arms across her chest, unwilling to say any more than just that.

Slowly I nodded. "Well, if you ever need to talk about something, I'm always here to listen," I said, shrugging, trying to seem comforting.

She smiled a rueful smile now, nodding as she stood up from the table. "Thank you Zander," Lightly she took my plate, and my cup, washing them with a speed that would impress a normal person. "What are the plans for today?"

I was a bit surprised at her words, before I spoke I couldn't help but chuckle, "I assume we will be spending the whole day together?"

A shy smile came to her face as she looked back at me, "You have assumed correctly,"

"Well then, can we go to the arcade?"

"Sure, your parents just said to make sure you're here at home by 8, so we have all kinds of time,"

And with that, Vanessa and I headed out the door.

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**This was entirely of Zander's Point of View. **

**Does anyone like to have more chapters like this? **

**Or should we stick to either Bella, or Edward? **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry this update took so long! The school year had started, and I just had been quite busy, but I'm finding time to write much more now. **

**I hope you enjoy the read! **

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**Bella's Point of View **

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The funeral had been short, and bitter. The stagnate air lingered through the air as people came in and out to pay their goodbyes to my father. I had been standing; for what felt like hours now, forcing a smile on my face, and repeating the words 'I'm alright' and 'Things will be fine'. Of course I didn't mean one thing I said.

I knew I had lost my father, he had been there for me through so much, and now thanks to me, he was on his death bed, and I'd never get him back. I would be here, and he would be up there; with the angels. Watching down over the rest of us, I know he would be; what I would give to tell him that I'm sorry for keeping my secret from him for so long, and to tell him that I love him.

"Bella," Edward's smooth voice sounded in my ear, and the swift movement of his arm coming around me had woken me from my thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded quietly, glancing up, focusing on his golden orbs just for a moment; before turning away from the gravestone. "Yes, we better get back," I muttered.

Edward hand now was rubbing soothing circles on my back as we both walked slowly away from the grave. I moved in closer to his side, closing my eyes. I could feel inside, where my heart was, a stinging pain that hadn't been there before. It was the loss, the pain, the fury I had been holding in for so long. I wouldn't dare let it show; how much this was effecting me. I wouldn't hurt Edward, I would let him believe… like all the others that I was taking the loss well, and that I would be alright.

But in all honesty, I won't be alright, not until I personally killed Riley.

"Mom, are you going to be ok?" Zander wondered over to us as we approached the car. His big brown eyes watched me seriously for a moment, keeping eye contact with me.

I again forced a smile, and nodded, "I'm alright dear,"

"You have been saying this all day, I'm not really buying that," He spoke, shaking his head a bit, looking between Edward and I.

Sighing, I moved over to him, and pulled him in for a hug, feeling a bit better as he held on tightly; like he did as a baby. "Zander, I will be ok, don't worry, everything will be taken care of,"

Zander didn't speak right away as we pulled apart, looking towards Edward.

I just caught the slightly flicker of a nod from Edward before Zander sighed, walking back to the car.

What had that been? It was almost like they had some kind of secret conversation there…

Curiosity burned at me, but I just couldn't find the energy to care at the moment. I followed after Zander, getting into the passenger side, and resting back into my seat. I closed my eyes, and waited, hearing Edward enter after me.

His smooth hand found mine, and for a moment I could take in a breath, and almost feel like everything was truly going to be ok. As long as Edward and I were together everything was going to be fine.

Upon getting back home, a family meeting was called, there was no doubt in my mind that I knew what issue would be brought up. I was looking forward to this, because it had to be about Riley, he was now posing a serious threat to the family. He could easily come for Zander next, and there was just no way was I ever going to let that happen, he would have to kill me first before he puts a hand on my baby.

Entering the Cullen house I felt everyone's eyes on me, but thankfully no one asked me any questions, no one said a word as Edward and I took our seat on the couch.

Zander yawned, stretching his arms out just slightly before waving to everyone. "I'm heading back over to the house, goodnight everyone," He said, his eyes showing no sign of tiredness.

"Good night Zan," Rose was the first to speak up, her tone nothing but warmth as she watched him.

The rest of them only gave a quiet goodnight, mostly focusing their attention between Edward and me; which I had to admit was slightly confusing. Why where they so intent on us?

As soon as Zander was gone, Carlisle spoke up with a slight smile. "I assure you Bella, Riley will be taken care of," His tone was compassionate, and it made me feel a bit better.

"Where is he?" I wondered, moving down closer to Edward, letting myself lean into his side, I was tired of holding myself up, the weight of today was finally settling in for me.

"We aren't sure just yet, but we have informed the wolves, and we have Alice watching for anymore decisions he might be making next,"

This wasn't good enough for me, more had to be done, my father was gone.

"I want to find him," I muttered, my eyes going to each of the Cullen's, taking in their expressions to my words.

Emmett cracked a huge goofy grin, "Maybe we can do some hunting of our own," He looked eagerly at the rest of them. "It's a good idea to hit him before he hits us."

"It would be something to take into consideration, we don't want to wait around for another innocent person to get hurt," I pointed out, nodding seriously.

"Yeah, I mean we have to think about Zander to, who knows what Riley will do next, what if it would have been Zander?" Rose said; her teeth tightly together. "We can't let a danger like that out there,"

Vanessa seemed to flinch at Rose's words, but she stayed quiet, looking away from all of us, it appeared that she was engulfed in her own thoughts.

"Then it's settled, we start hunting for Riley, and stop whatever it is he is planning," Carlisle nodded with slight reluctance, but I understood his reaction. We all knew Carlisle wasn't into violence, or hurting anyone, but under these circumstances it's for the best.

Alice sighed, now turning her attention to Edward and I. "Now let's talking about something a little less depressing," Her bubbly smile was now back on her face. "Your wedding!"

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